Wallpaper Entrepreneur Embraces Casual Comfort At Her Minneapolis Home

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WWR Article Summary (tl;dr)Aimee Lagos, with her business partner Christiana Coop, started her company in 2008 — before most people ever heard of the word hygge, pronounced “hue-gah.” Lagos chose the Danish word for cozy and savoring small simple moments in naming her wallpaper collection, “Hygge & West.”

Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

The latest lifestyle buzzword is “hygge.” And for Aimee Lagos, it’s an apt description of her online wallpaper business — as well as her century-old Minneapolis house.

Lagos chose the Danish word for cozy and savoring small simple moments in naming her wallpaper collection, Hygge & West.

“The patterns make rooms feel happy, warm and welcoming,” she said.

In her own home, she’s created an atmosphere that encourages hygge moments, such as leisurely dinners in the dining room with friends or reading a great book by the fireplace.

“I choose furniture and decor not purely for style and appearance, but to foster togetherness,” said Lagos.

And, of course, she’s enhanced seven rooms in her home with Hygge & West wallpapers.

Lagos, with her business partner Christiana Coop, started the company in 2008 — before most people ever heard of the word hygge, pronounced “hue-gah.”

“Hygge blew up,” said Lagos. “Now you see it everywhere.”

Lagos and Coop have been friends since grade school in New Mexico. While working as corporate lawyers in Chicago, both women yearned for a career about-face. “We wanted to do something more artistic and creative,” said Lagos.

In 2006, Lagos moved to Minneapolis with her two sons and her husband, Manny Lagos, a St. Paul native and currently the sporting director for the Minnesota United soccer team.

Lagos and Coop made connections in the wallcovering industry as U.S. distributors for the Danish company Ferm Living, and after about a year, they launched their own brand and online retail site.